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Italeri Kfz.305 Opel Blitz Typ A 4X4
| Catalog Number: | 6760 | Manufacturer: | Italeri |
| Published: | Tuesday, July 7, 2026 | Retail Price: | $56.99 |
| Scale: | 1:35 | Reviewed By: | Russ Clark |
Italeri Kfz.305 Opel Blitz Typ A 4X4
Welcome to the full build review of the Kfz.305 Opel Blitz Typ A 4X4 by Italeri. To see the First Look review please visit Opel Blitz 4X4 First Look
The Build
The build begins with the assembly of the engine. Steps 1 & 2 complete the process with no major issues. In step 1 parts 36A (fan belt) and 53A (intake manifold & carburetor) are actually on sprue B. This is a small issue and didn't cause any problems. The parts are easy to identify and find on the correct sprue. Aside from that, the rest of the engine build went smooth. There are some seam lines to deal with but the parts fit together well. The end result is a well detailed engine that looks great as is and also provides a solid foundation to add extra detail such as spark plug wires.
Moving on to steps 3 through 10 assemble the engine radiator, truck frame, and 4x4 drive train. The radiator parts in step 3 are also mislabeled as parts found on sprue A but are found on sprue B. Again, not a major issue as they are easy to identify. Four parts total build the radiator, fan shroud, and filler neck. Parts fit together well and look great. The frame assembly also begins in step 3 with the assembly of the trailer hitch and tow hooks.
Step 4 is split into 2 parts. The first part builds the front tow hitch and siren. No issue with that part but I recommend holding off on the second part. Parts 28A, 29A, 30A, and 31A are the supports under the cab steps. I found it beneficial to attach these braces when dry fitting the cab for alignment purposes. I attached the braces in step 4 and they did not align with the cab steps. In the end I had to leave them as is, as they are not visible from above.
Here you can see how the braces did not line up with the cab steps when I was trying to attach the cab after it was painted. Another thing I want to point out in step 5 is the gas tank. Make sure you attach it the correct way with the relief for the drive shaft facing the transmission. If you look close enough in the picture above you can see I made the mistake of mounting the gas tank 180 degrees off. This caused interference issues when attaching the drive shaft in step 9. The rest of the frame and drive train assembly went smooth. After completing step 12 I was left with a beautiful looking 4x4 chassis.
I left the engine and transmission out so it could be painted separately. Step 13 begins the cab assembly starting with the cab interior. A basic interior with split bench seat, gear shifters, foot pedals, and rear cab wall is assembled first. Most of the interior will not be seen as the cab doors are molded closed. It was a little tricky at first to figure out how to paint the cab interior as easily as possible.
Here you can see how I chose to paint and assemble the cab interior. Steps 16 and 17 were mainly used as a guide to build the assemblies seen above. The dash and instruments had nice detail and I wanted it to look as good as possible, even if the doors would be left closed. The decals for the gauges looked great. The wiper blades seem to have been forgotten about. Step 16 shows no wiper blades and step 17 all of a sudden shows wiper blades installed. I attached the wiper blades in step 16 after masking the windshield.
Speaking of the windshield, I have heard in previous Opel Blitz kits it has had fit issues. I can honestly say the windshield seemed to fit pretty well with this kit. With a little patience and lots of dry fitting, it fit well and was easy to mask without coming loose.
I wanted to paint the exterior of the cab separate from the frame. Since the steering shaft has to be able to pass through the dash when installing the cab on the frame, I had to find a way to seal the cab and remove the roof later on to attach the steering wheel. I attached the cab doors with tamiya extra thin but attached the roof and wind shield with white glue so it can be removed later.
Here is the cab sealed up with the roof attached with white glue. The hood is just resting in place. After the exterior of the cab was completely painted and decals in place, it was easy to pop the roof off and thread the steering shaft through the fire wall when the cab was finally attached to the painted frame. If this is the way you want to paint your Opel Blitz there is one more helpful suggestion. Step 18 attaches the braces for the cargo bed to the frame. Leave the most forward brace (part 66E) off or attach it to the bottom of the cargo bed floor instead. This will make it much easier to thread the steering shaft through the fire wall.
In the picture above you can see the brace closest to the gas tank is still on the frame. I removed it later on when dry fitting the cab. I will point this out in a later picture. The primer is Mr. Surfacer Black 1500 and Grey 1500 thinned with Mr. Hobby Leveling Thinner.
The construction of the cargo bed is straight forward done in step 19. I found the wood grain detail a little lacking and the inside of the bed sides has several ejector pin marks that will need to be filled if you choose to leave it uncovered. For this review I used the supplied plastic canvas cover to hide the inside of the bed. The kit also supplies boards that rest in the grooves on the inside of the bed sides and canvas cover supports that are molded together in their stowed away position. Even though the wood grain is a little lacking it is easy to enhance if you choose. I used a fine brass wire brush to enhance the wood grain and a pointed chisel to deepen the seams between the boards. Then smoothed it over with Tamiya Extra Thin Cement. This seemed to help later on when trying to bring out the detail.
Here is the cargo bed and canvas cover after a base coat of Tamiya XF-93 Light Brown Dak 1942 thinned with Mr. Hobby Leveling Thinner and airbrushed in thin coats to allow the shadows through. I followed the color guide in the instructions for the Wehrmacht, D.A.K. 21 Panzer Division, Libya, Summer 1942. The camouflage pattern was modified slightly from the directions, airbrushed free hand with Tamiya German Grey XF-63. Then airbrushed Tamiya clear over the areas where decals will be placed. The decals were applied using Micro Set and Micro Sol, then once again airbrushed clear over the decals after they dried overnight. The decals are thin and soften easily with Micro Sol.
Here is the truck cab and cargo bed after the camouflage and decals applied. You can see the wood grain that the brass wire brush added to the bed sides. The yellow markings settled into the texture easily with Micro Sol. Note the missing camouflage at the front of the cargo bed. I assumed the cab was going to cover it. The front bumper is another part that was missed with the German Grey camouflage. I was impressed with the detail molded into the canvas cover. Using the dry brush method it was easy to accent the high points with a light brown color over the airbrushed layer of Tamiya XF-49 Khaki.
The frame was airbrushed using the same Tamiya XF-93 Light Brown. The engine was hand painted with Vallejo Model Air 71.056 Panzer DK. Grey RAL 7021, air cleaner and valve cover with Vallejo Model Air 71.272 German Green Brown RAL 8000, and transmission with Mig A. MIG-0908 Grey Base. Rust colors by Life Color were used on the exhaust. The fuel tank and steering shaft painted using AK 3G Flat Black. A mix of darker colored 502 Abteilung Oil paints were used to add some grime to the frame and drivetrain. Once the oil paint was allowed to dry for a few days I airbrushed a light coat of Tamiya Earth XF-52 that was lightened with Buff XF-57 to add a base layer of dust in areas where dust would collect.
In the two pictures above you can now see the removed cargo bed support. This allowed the cab to align with the steering shaft making it easier to thread through the dash and install the cab. I attached the support to the cargo bed floor instead.
Here is the finished Italeri Kfz. 305 Opel Blitz Typ A 4X4. It was a pleasure to build all in all. Aside from a few injector pin marks inside the cargo bed and some small alignment issues with the cab and frame, this is a great kit. The finished product is a great looking subject and I plan on continuing with it in the future. Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to do this review. I hope I am able to help fellow scale modelers with their Opel Blitz 4X4 project.
Highly Recommended for Beginner to Advanced builders.
Thanks goes out to Model Rectifier Corporation for this review kit.
Reviewed by Russ Clark
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